A prescribed private fund is a fund listed by name in the Income Tax Assessment Regulation 1997 as a prescribed private fund, but does not include any fund declared by the Treasurer, in writing, not to be a prescribed fund.

The application process and the requirements to establish a fund are set out in the Guidelines for Prescribed Private Funds. These guidelines include a model trust deed. Prescribed private funds are established by businesses, families and individuals for philanthropic purposes and need not seek contributions from the public. Distributions from the fund may only go to DGRs that are not ancillary funds or other prescribed private funds. A list of these deductible gift recipients (DGRs) is set out in the fact sheet Deductible gift recipients listed by name in the tax law (NAT 8443). They can also be searched on the Australian Business Register at www.abn.business.gov.au